Caroline Hartnell

‘Have you come across Dame Stephanie Shirley and this Ambassadors for Philanthropy organization? If so, is it worthwhile getting involved, do you think?’

‘I was wondering if you have heard of this initiative and if so, what you might know about it?’

These were two of a clutch of emails I received in late September last year, along with my own invitation from ‘Dame Stephanie Shirley, The British Government’s Founding Ambassador for Philanthropy’, to me as ‘a leader in advancing strategic philanthropy’, to become a ‘Founding Member/Partner of the Ambassadors for Philanthropy’. ‘This social enterprise exists to give philanthropists a voice worldwide,’ ran the email.

I suspect that emails like this, both the invitations and the attempts to find out what was behind them, were flying around cyberspace in large numbers. I didn’t know the answer. I had come across Roberta d’Eustachio, one of the co-founders, many years earlier, then as now engaged in publishing magazines for philanthropists, but I hadn’t heard of her for years.

A couple of months later, with curiosity still riding high, I decided to ask Dame Stephanie Shirley and Roberta d’Eustachio for an interview. They agreed, and the interview, published last week, can be found on the Alliance website.

While one of the Ambassadors’ aims is to see ambassadors for philanthropy appointed in countries the world over to give philanthropists a voice, Dame Stephanie and Roberta insist that each one of us can be an ‘ambassador for philanthropy’ if we are strategic in our giving. The organization’s jewel in the crown is Giving Magazine – ‘the philanthropist’s voice worldwide’, the aim being to distribute the iPad/tablet and ezine editions to more than 5 million philanthropists worldwide, through a strategic relationship with the Association of Fundraising Professionals International and a number of other global organizations, including Resource Alliance.

You can read the full interview here.

Caroline Hartnell is editor of Alliance magazine